That word you see above is ringing in my ears these days.
One after the other, events that have been on my calendar for months are no longer taking place.
Workshops, keynote presentations, panels and presentations in six countries, cancelled.
My class at Columbia University’s School of Journalism, cancelled in person and conducted via Zoom—online teaching.
So for the first time in five decades, I am grounded. I am not the only one. I am hearing the news and reading newsletters and see that businesses everywhere are encouraging their people to work from home, sports and entertainment events, as well as conferences, cancelled.
If “cancelled” is the word of the moment, then “social distancing” is the phrase of the week. We cancel events and functions to avoid social contact.
Madonna and Mariah Carey, among others, have cancelled their concerts and gigs.
Many sports are played behind closed doors with no audience.
The NY subway seems emptier, and so do the buses in the City.
And I read somewhere today that New York is running more ike at 70 miles per hour, and not its usual 150 miles per hour.
This, too, shall pass. We hope. But , for now, it is all about reading how to make online teaching more effective, how to keep that Purell hand sanitizer handy, and how to avoid the temptation to shake hands with someone you meet.
In a way, so much of life has been cancelled.
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TheMarioBlog post # 3226